View Full Version : Snow driving thread.
InvaderGIR
20-12-10, 15:52
As there is all sorts of talk about driving in snow in the show us your motors thread, I thought I'd bring it into a new thread. :)
Anyone else been enjoying driving in the snow, ice and slush lately? I know I have...apart from when stuck behind slow drivers that don't understand the basic principles of driving. :D
EDIT:
Also, how many of you have been complying legally with the snow?
http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/vv126/InvG/IMAG0193.jpg
The car has been covered in snow a few days, and this is how it should look before you drive off. Any of you the silly people that just drive off with it covered in snow?
I can't believe the number of people I've seen who just rub out small patches of snow from the windows and windscreen and reckon that's good enough so drive around with it like that!! Morons
Yeah some of the cars around here look like igloos on wheels!
I have much fail to report:
1. Sitting with your wheels spinning in first gear. Wheels spinning means its not working idiot! Try second... SECOND... SECOND!!!
2. as pointed out above make sure all windows are clear... don't just clear a letterbox hole at eye level...
3. Pouring boiling water over the windscreen.... fail.
I see a lot of expensive cars left unattended with their engines running at the moment. If only I knew a good fence...
wonderlust
20-12-10, 16:30
people in 4 wheel drives travelling at high speed, just because they have grip to move doesn't mean they have grip to stop...
where you in Reading earlier :chuckle:
wonderlust
20-12-10, 17:12
no, got enough idiots down here ;)
2. as pointed out above make sure all windows are clear... don't just clear a letterbox hole at eye level...
But its soooo cold! Clear as much as I need to be able to see straight forward and hope the heater will do the rest!!!! :clap
PS Actually I keep my car in the garage and don't drive looking through a tank turret sized hole
My neighbour came out to have a talk with me the other day. They have a sign up saying "Private drive - no turning" even though there are three other houses down there. Usually, I will comply and drive down to the turning circle to turn round. It's no big deal. But we're on a fairly steep hill and the truning circle is notorious for filling up with ice. So seeing as the "private" drive is just opposite my house, I used it to turn my car round. I like my car to face up the hill when I park so that I can just jump in and go when I need to, rather than first thing being to have to turn around.
I just said to them, "Surely you can appreciate that it is far safer to turn around here than it is down there, where I might not be able to get back up the hill. For the sake of spoiling your view of the same road which you see every single day for 10 seconds, I really don't think it's worth the risk."
I just said to them, "Surely you can appreciate that it is far safer to turn around here than it is down there, where I might not be able to get back up the hill. For the sake of spoiling your view of the same road which you see every single day for 10 seconds, I really don't think it's worth the risk."
I bet he was pleased with that answer :)
people in 4 wheel drives travelling at high speed, just because they have grip to move doesn't mean they have grip to stop...
This...
Such idiots. Seriously.
I cleared all the snow of my car before I drove off, but we've only had it like once a few weeks back. It still gets icey/slushy now and then but nothing major.
when I had a car, I always made sure none of the windows, lights were covered in snow & of course the reg. Didn't really care about the rest...... oh and always cleared a bit of the roof, so that when I get in, the snow doesn't fall in lol
when I had a car, I always made sure none of the windows, lights were covered in snow & of course the reg. Didn't really care about the rest...... oh and always cleared a bit of the roof, so that when I get in, the snow doesn't fall in lol
I always clear my windows, lights, registration plates, mirrors, around the doors so that no snow falls in and the bonnet. One time I left the snow on the bonnet not thinking that it'd blow up in my face (well, all over the windscreen) as soon as I did 30mph! So now I always clear the bonnet too.
I always clear my windows, lights, registration plates, mirrors, around the doors so that no snow falls in and the bonnet. One time I left the snow on the bonnet not thinking that it'd blow up in my face (well, all over the windscreen) as soon as I did 30mph! So now I always clear the bonnet too.
Don't you do the roof too? When you brake is going to slide down the windscreen and onto the bonnet.
InvaderGIR
20-12-10, 20:36
Don't you do the roof too? When you brake is going to slide down the windscreen and onto the bonnet.
Not to mention coming off onto cars behind you.
It is dangerous which is why it is illegal to leave snow on the car. Remove all of it, hence why I posted a picture of my car completely cleared.
This...
Such idiots. Seriously.
another jealous normal car driver then ;)
The VW golf behind me today, what do they weigh a ton maybe, half the weight of mine ended up sideways trying to avoid me, I'd slammed on the anchors as a pedestrian had fallen over and stopped in a nice straight line. At most this was 20mph.
Seriously, I get very miffed that 4x4 drivers get hammered when we take advantage of the car features in poor weather. It's not like we all shout at sports cars in the summer in perfect dry conditions when they throw them around roundabouts.
It's about the correct skills, being behind the correct car in the matching conditions. I understand, there are people out there who assume 4x4 means good grip, and yet you look at the BMW alloys and low profile, thin thread tyres and sigh.
You have your fun, I'll have mine and as long as within the law of driving with due care an attention, leave off the 4x4 generalisation bashing please.
Did you notice you may have touched a nerve?
stop this 4x4 talk, i wantz!
:D
I don't remove the snow off roof, i'll be honest.
Windscreen completely clear, side windows clear and rear window is cleared with the windscreen wiper - even with the heaviest covering of snow the wiper will easily clear it - exactly what would happen if some snow from my roof fell on my front windscreen, the wipers would clear it in seconds.
Some roof snow may fall off into the car behind - don't drive so close up my bumper then ;)
Apparently they are now fining people with excess snow on their car due to frozen blocks of snow could be potentially fatal to a pedestrian should it fall off due to heavy breaking or what not.
InvaderGIR
20-12-10, 22:04
stop this 4x4 talk, i wantz!
:D
I don't remove the snow off roof, i'll be honest.
Windscreen completely clear, side windows clear and rear window is cleared with the windscreen wiper - even with the heaviest covering of snow the wiper will easily clear it - exactly what would happen if some snow from my roof fell on my front windscreen, the wipers would clear it in seconds.
Some roof snow may fall off into the car behind - don't drive so close up my bumper then ;)
*sigh*
The thing is, it is dangerous and also takes next to no time to clear all of it off. Last couple of times I've cleared it all off it's taken all of 2mins with the scraper, really not a big deal and stops me being a dangerous plank.
The vast majority of cars in manc over the weekend were all driving about with snow on roof.
I'm still not convinced its really that hazadous, its either a flurry of small bits of snow or a chunk of frozen snow falling and smashing on the road - neither an issue as i keep good distance from car in front.
letter box windscreen drivers i'll agree, very dangerous.
another jealous normal car driver then ;)
The VW golf behind me today, what do they weigh a ton maybe, half the weight of mine ended up sideways trying to avoid me, I'd slammed on the anchors as a pedestrian had fallen over and stopped in a nice straight line. At most this was 20mph.
Seriously, I get very miffed that 4x4 drivers get hammered when we take advantage of the car features in poor weather. It's not like we all shout at sports cars in the summer in perfect dry conditions when they throw them around roundabouts.
It's about the correct skills, being behind the correct car in the matching conditions. I understand, there are people out there who assume 4x4 means good grip, and yet you look at the BMW alloys and low profile, thin thread tyres and sigh.
You have your fun, I'll have mine and as long as within the law of driving with due care an attention, leave off the 4x4 generalisation bashing please.
Did you notice you may have touched a nerve?
Thats fine when you're sensible with it - but I have to say, my experience of 4x4 drivers in the snow has been much the same as others as a majority.. Thats not to tar them all with the same brush at all - but it actually seems to be that in general, they speed up when in the snow.
I was doing 30 in a 30 zone today. Gritted road, but still VERY slushy and slippery when off the tyre tracks.. I had someone come up behind me, and actually overtake me (I was already travelling at the speed limit). Not only did it mean that he had to go faster than the speed limit to do it, but it also meant that he had to drive through all of the slush, showering it over my entire car windscreen, and that of the car infront of me who he also overtook in the same manouvre.. I don't care how big your tyres are - when you're effectively breaking the speed limit on ice, you will not be able to stop in time for anything....
As I said, I know there are responsible 4x4 drivers, and they are probably the majority.. But its the ones who do stupid things like that who stand out as the norm..
InvaderGIR
20-12-10, 23:56
Blocks of snow and ice falling about onto the road is not good, for starters we all know how retarded the vast majority of people are, a lump of ice or snow falling in front of them will scare them and could easily send them causing an accident.
The minimal hassle over clearing off the front and rear screens makes clearing the whole thing off not an issue at all.
GentleGiant
21-12-10, 00:30
Saw a car today with the letterbox windscreen and so much snow on the rest of the car I could not see what make or model it was. Even the headlight clusters were still under 6" of snow.
Saw a few who think the more you spin the tyres the better they will go, including one RWD that managed to spin it off the road and onto the pavement at about 10mph.
The best one I sadly did not see, I was told what was happening, but the road was blocked by police and fire trucks.
Apparently a BMW X series had been pratting about on the common near my house, the snow got into the engine bay electrics, melted and shorted it out; there was smoke and flames coming out of the engine bay and the police were worried it would explode!!!:D
There have been a few people like that around here.... "Hmmm wheels are starting to loose traction. Floor it!!"
I even saw someone do it in a Nissan Terrano and got all 4 wheels spinning whilst still actually on the road! :lol: :lol:
Blocks of snow and ice falling about onto the road is not good, for starters we all know how retarded the vast majority of people are, a lump of ice or snow falling in front of them will scare them and could easily send them causing an accident.
The minimal hassle over clearing off the front and rear screens makes clearing the whole thing off not an issue at all.
this type of people should never drive. Same thing will happen if a kid kicks a ball onto the street/cat runs out etc etc etc
I don't care how big your tyres are - when you're effectively breaking the speed limit on ice, you will not be able to stop in time for anything....
it's not about the size, it's about the right type of tyres for the conditions. Some of my friends with large mud tyres leave the 4x4 on the drive in the snow, the tread is all wrong. My all terrains have given me in my little Freelander so much grip even when doing a "TopGear", on an empty car park, the effort required to get it to go sideways was astonishing.
Not much left in Reading now anyway :(
DT.
it's all nice and easy to clear off the soft snow.
but what if it was sleet at beginning of the night, then snow later on?
i've cleared my car of snow, but on the roof and boot, there are hard icy snow that cannot be removed unless scrap it off, but that'd mean going at the paintwork with sharpish objects something hard.
surely non-excessive snow on top of your car should be fine. as in not enough to fall onto the road when driving above 30. icy snow will just melt after driving long distances because it's been stuck to the car.
For those that are planning on using the motorways and might not seen this before, I've found a rather useful page on the "Highways Agency" web site.
http://www.trafficengland.com/index.aspx
Basicaly if you are setting off on a journey you can see if there are any problems on the major roads, but what I found most useful is the “traffic flow” page. Here you select the motorways you need, for example I have one route saved M5 J20 to M5 J4 and 50 J1 to M50 J3, this shows a column view with average speeds between each junction and most importantly lets you look at the motorway cameras so you can see what the roads are like in real time! :thumb:
My kitchen window overlooks a hill-road we all need to use to get on the main drag, im yet to see 2 cars in a row coming downhill that are even remotely close to a safe distance apart for a dry downhill run, let alone 4 inches of slush n ice.
At LEAST 10x normal stopping distance for snow and ice, going by the highway code, amazing how few people seem to know this.
IF i go out in the car, i make sure to block as much passing room as possible and drive no more than 2/3rd's the road limit and i dont care who i annoy doing it, they should learn proper road skills as i have done.
Last years snow saw me at an out of town ice rink (smyths toy store car park) where everyone was going sideways, i managed to park up only to see a guy, in spakka tracky bottoms, shell jacket, no gloves and open faced lid getting on his learner-plated 125, prat.
StuartyB33
21-12-10, 10:02
If your driving in bad snowy conditions i was taught through army training to keep all snow on the car to give you more weight and traction obviously you clear all windows.
For those that are planning on using the motorways and might not seen thios before, I've found a rather useful pagfe on the "Highways Agency" web site.
http://www.trafficengland.com/index.aspx
Basicaly if you are setting off on a journey you can see if there are any problems on the major roads, but what I found most useful is the “traffic flow” page. Here you select the motorways you need, for example I have one route saved M5 J20 to M5 J4 and 50 J1 to M50 J3, this shows a column view with average speeds between each junction and most importantly lets you look at the motorway cameras so you can see what the roads are like in real time! :thumb:
that website is amazing. many thanks. will be very useful before i set off tomorrow, i'll be going most of the way down M4, from M25 to M5.
it's not about the size, it's about the right type of tyres for the conditions. Some of my friends with large mud tyres leave the 4x4 on the drive in the snow, the tread is all wrong. My all terrains have given me in my little Freelander so much grip even when doing a "TopGear", on an empty car park, the effort required to get it to go sideways was astonishing.
Not much left in Reading now anyway :(
DT.
Tell that to my mum's other half who wrote his freelander off last week going round a corner. He slid into a ditch.
Just because you have an all terrain vehicle does not make you immortal.
Don't you do the roof too? When you brake is going to slide down the windscreen and onto the bonnet.
No I don't, but I might do now. It's the possibility of a fine that bothers me because fines are just unnecessary expenses, but snow coming off my roof is no concern of mine really. Cars shouldn't be that close up my **** in conditions where they might not be able to stop quickly enough. I leave a very big gap in front in this weather, and I've never had any trouble with snow from the roofs of other cars.
If you leave snow on the roof then when you brake it will slide onto the windscreen. Also think of fuel efficiency, why tow around all that extra weight?
Tell that to my mum's other half who wrote his freelander off last week going round a corner. He slid into a ditch.
Just because you have an all terrain vehicle does not make you immortal.
It's the same throughout the year in my opinion, know what your car is capable of and don't push the limits, 4x4 or sports car, to me it makes no difference. It's about not pushing the limits unless in a safe place to do so. I think the word or phrase is probably "inappropriate driving", people are used to the limits of wet/dry from normal every day driving in the UK, add a new surface and new behaviour and there are a lot of people who seem to mis-understand what is appropriate.
My Freelander in the wet or dry with the AT's on isn't terrible, but not even close to as good with the alloys and normal tyres on, but I'm not a speed driver, I'm a driver who enjoys the terrain challenges off-road, and when the snow does come, the snow :)
Even on days when I'm not planning to use the car, I'm clearing the windows, roof etc. I need to know I can jump in the car just like a normal day for client calls etc. Preperation is key.
DT.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/road-safety/8209810/Winter-tyre-advice-from-the-IAM.html
Some good advice there, and on the related articles as well :)
The thing that annoys me most is when you leave a decent sized gap between you and the car infront, and then some idiot flies past you, pulls into the stopping distance you have created for yourself and then more often than not slows down to less than your speed to give himself some distance between them and the car infront....
Ooh don't go near the stopping distance debate :p
When I was driving it always used to annoy me that most of the congestion on a car journey is caused by people not leaving enough of a gap to absorb the vehicles slowing down in front.
One car taps the breaks and it sends a wave of breaking down the motorway, resulting in those phantom traffic jams.
Sitting on someone's bumper doesn't get you there faster.
Sitting on my bumper just makes me drive slower and take longer to pull over.. :D :lol:
I have sympathy for a lot of truck drivers though.. It takes a truck SO long to get up to speed, and then some plonker does that forcing the truck to brake - and then the truck gets all the abuse from the following drivers because they were held up. I always try and give them as much room as possible!
My dad did his HGV1 license years ago, and said it was shocking how much he was cut up when driving, even when doing the test in the truck clearly with "L"s all over it!
as my Great Granddad used to say, "you know you've left a big enough gap for stoping distance, because someone pillock will fill it"
DT.
as my Great Granddad used to say, "you know you've left a big enough gap for stoping distance, because someone pillock will fill it"
DT.
classic :D
InvaderGIR
21-12-10, 21:48
Been proving once again that this country is full of idiots, my car is coping just fine with all this ice despite it being possibly the worst car for it (wide summer tyres, rwd).
I had to drive around work's (Supermarket) carpark for 20mins before I could find a space due to cretins parking extremely badly across multiple bays...phoned my boss whilst trying to find a space and she found it funny. :(
Have slide the car about and smoked my clutch because I was being an idiot when moving the car about on my road (slipping the clutch a bit much...clutch is already a bit dodgy)...but for the most part, car drives just fine, I really don't get the whole panicing that everyone is doing. Up ice covered hills I drop to about 800rpm due to TC kicking in but it pulls on up the hill in second just fine. :cool:
I can understand on properly thick snow it might be worse, but from everything I've driven on this month it's been fine.
As for 'omgz my paintwork' with regards to clearing off the ice...get a grip, plus use a decent window Squeegee like this (http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00dMQEcLYgYWke/Window-Squeegee-with-Plastic-Handle-WS003-.jpg) one, the rubber side doesn't damage the car and removes the ice.
The supermarket parking thing happens every year.. Generally its because the cars park there when its snowed and they can't see the lines. Then the snow gets cleared/melts and they look properly daft :lol: :lol:
At our local Tesco, they had 4 tractors there last night using their scoops to clear the snow.. Went up there tonight and there are 7 or 8 piles of snow that dwarfed the long wheel base transits that were parked next to it - they'll be there for weeks if not months!! :lol: :lol:
woodpigeon4
21-12-10, 21:57
I've been astonished at just how good my car is in the snow (yeah, I'm so modest) :p. I'm not a professionally trained driver, and whilst I drive a 4x4, my tyres are pretty worn, and I haven't lost grip once, not even when stopping pretty sharply when someone slipped over in the road.
It's also had the effect of further securing my anti-environmentalist views - suddenly people who normally have a go at 4x4 drivers seem incredibly grateful when I turn up to tow them out of whatever hideous mess they've got themselves in (usually by bad driving - even a prius should still be able to move in the snow), but I'm sure once this is all over they'll be back to their normal ways, forgetting everything guys like me have done for them and doing their best to ban the only cars that actually work in any situation.
I've vowed that if I ever get rid of my car, it will be replaced by another 4x4, albeit a more economical one, as I looked at my dash yesterday and found I was averaging 7MPG :o
InvaderGIR
21-12-10, 22:09
The supermarket parking thing happens every year.. Generally its because the cars park there when its snowed and they can't see the lines. Then the snow gets cleared/melts and they look properly daft :lol: :lol:
At our local Tesco, they had 4 tractors there last night using their scoops to clear the snow.. Went up there tonight and there are 7 or 8 piles of snow that dwarfed the long wheel base transits that were parked next to it - they'll be there for weeks if not months!! :lol: :lol:
Nobody at Sainsbury's (my store anyway) seems fussed about clearing the snow, so the bays are an utter mess...it does make leaving at night awesome fun though. ;) :D
The walkways have been shovelled, which actually makes them more unsafe to walk on. :surprised:
I did see one thing I found great in the car park at work...someone in their Seat Leon or something had their front towing eye screwed in...either they have already been a berk and gone off, or they are assuming they will...making them just as stupid if not more so.
My car has no ABS and no traction control. I've been getting about just fine. The furthest I've slid is probably 3 metres at most, but I haven't exactly lost control of the car.
My car has no ABS and no traction control. I've been getting about just fine. The furthest I've slid is probably 3 metres at most, but I haven't exactly lost control of the car.
Same as mine.. just a bit of common sense and no need to have lead feet and It's fine.. my housemate has a different theory.. we have quite a steep drive and he's only been driving for about 5weeks but he's already an 'expert'..
he came up to me the other day talking about the horror story of our drive.. he said 'I put my foot lightly on the brake pedal and started sliding.. so I pushed harder and harder and no matter how hard I pushed on the pedal, the car wouldn't slow down.. I think there's either something wrong with the brakes or there's no away of getting down the drive...'
Oh dear. Suffice to say, my car is now parked uphill from his!
'I put my foot lightly on the brake pedal and started sliding.. so I pushed harder and harder and no matter how hard I pushed on the pedal, the car wouldn't slow down.. I think there's either something wrong with the brakes or there's no away of getting down the drive...'
:chairfall::lol:
.. so I pushed harder and harder and no matter how hard I pushed on the pedal, the car wouldn't slow down..
Like this you mean......... :eek:
BM2gLjfE_3Y
InvaderGIR
23-12-10, 14:56
Left work at 5am this morning, empty roads so had a little fun...I love RWD, drifting into a junction up a hill. :cool: :D
Same as mine.. just a bit of common sense and no need to have lead feet and It's fine.. my housemate has a different theory.. we have quite a steep drive and he's only been driving for about 5weeks but he's already an 'expert'..
he came up to me the other day talking about the horror story of our drive.. he said 'I put my foot lightly on the brake pedal and started sliding.. so I pushed harder and harder and no matter how hard I pushed on the pedal, the car wouldn't slow down.. I think there's either something wrong with the brakes or there's no away of getting down the drive...'
Oh dear. Suffice to say, my car is now parked uphill from his!
I love the way people think the same thing which didn't work will work if you do it more.
But I remember when I was a driving noob.
First lesson, instructor is describing car controls:
Instructor: So you're parked up, the engine is running. How would you make teh car move?
Me: Release the handbrake and accelerate.
Instructor: Okay then - try it.
So I do, and the car doesn't move.
Instructor: You need to put it in gear first.
Me: Of course.
*puts it in 1st, car still doesn't move*
Instructor: It's actually the clutch that makes the car move, the accelerator just burns petrol.
I love the way people think the same thing which didn't work will work if you do it more.
But I remember when I was a driving noob.
First lesson, instructor is describing car controls:
Instructor: So you're parked up, the engine is running. How would you make teh car move?
Me: Release the handbrake and accelerate.
Instructor: Okay then - try it.
So I do, and the car doesn't move.
Instructor: You need to put it in gear first.
Me: Of course.
*puts it in 1st, car still doesn't move*
Instructor: It's actually the clutch that makes the car move, the accelerator just burns petrol.
You not into cars then? People that are into cars can usually drive for the first time without anyone telling them how to, because when you're growing up you take note what people do to make it go and stop.
Well, if he grew up with automatics, then he was spot on :lol: :lol: :lol:
True, but you'd realised there's extra pedal and the gears are different to an auto:rolleyes:
I love my car, but don't really understand them. I drive it and do basic maintenance like checking fluids and tyre pressure and tread, that's all really. I guess I'm like a typical computer noob, but with cars instead of computers - happy to use them as long as they work, reluctant to mess around inside them because I only have one car of my own and don't want to "break" it.
I realised on my lessons that there were a lot of simple things that I didn't understand. I used to watch my parents driving while in the car and understood how to use the indicators, the brake and the accelerator, and I knew that the left pedal was pressed to change gears but that is literally all I understood about gears - press the left pedal, move the gear stick. I never realised it was the clutch either on my first lesson - I just thought it was the gear pedal! I would also get "clutch" confused with "choke", but that's not really a problem with modern cars. I had a few lessons just on clutch control when I first started.
There's also a mini roundabout nearby, which there wasn't back when I was little. It's fairly new. As a pedestrian I was simply taught to look both ways to see if there were cars coming, and at a crossroad or junction I figured out that cars on the main road would carry on, where cars on the side roads with give way lines would stop at a crossroad, but I was never taught how cars behaved on mini roundabouts. So on my first lesson where I used the mini roundabout, I just stopped at it, because I didn't know what to actually pay attention to or how to anticipate peoples' intentions.
I just have to know how things work, from my kettle to my PC and my car in between. I just have a desire to understand how things work, and most times that means I don't get fobbed off by repair shops :)
I suppose my favourite was the £160 estimate to fix our washing machine, knowledge of how motors work, 2 new bits of carbon into the springy bits (technical term) and washing machine motor fixed. They wanted to charge me for a new motor, fitting and they would take the old one away so helpfully. Those two bits of carbon = £2.69 on ebay.
Back to topic, 4x4 or not, there is no way my car is going out now. The side roads are just sheet ice, main roads that have had traffic on are clearing, but side roads and some carparks are spiky tyres or crash now.
DT.
I also love to know how things work, but I don't like to practice on my only available option. I like to have a spare which I can learn with, so that I don't mess up my daily use stuff while learning.
Back to topic, 4x4 or not, there is no way my car is going out now. The side roads are just sheet ice, main roads that have had traffic on are clearing, but side roads and some carparks are spiky tyres or crash now.
DT.
I just got back in from driving... Front wheel drive car at 20mph and I hit a bit of ice with a couple of wheels and genuinely had to apply opposite lock to control it. I was only doing about 15-20mph at the time, but it just goes to show how slippy it is out there!!!!
The welcome mat outside our front door is rock solid! I'm also making a note of walking on the far side of our lawn when leaving the house because the near side where the snow didn't melt is now ice, as is the path next to it, and you just can't stand on it!
The snow in my drive is going to take weeks to melt I reckon... Its about 3ft high where we shovelled it out the way :lol:
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